On Mon, Apr 7, 2014 at 5:10 PM, Felix Miata <mrma...@earthlink.net> wrote: > On 2014-04-07 15:51 (GMT-0400) Tom Livingston composed: > > >> Barney Carroll wrote: > > >>> Please forgive the impertinent lurker here, but could somebody weigh in >>> with >>> why relative measures are necessary when the desired outcome is >>> pixel-level >>> accuracy? > > >> While feeling a little 'holy war', I'll bite... > > >> It's to honor browser/user-set default font size settings. > > > Exactly. Respect for optimal as determined by the viewer, represented by the > configured default. > > >> If a user has set a larger font size in their browser preferences > > > She may have set a smaller size. Maybe she wants to fit more open windows > with less hidden from view in any or all of them. > > >> due to less than perfect eyesight, > > > The why is totally irrelevant. Web pages are nearly always viewed on > personal computing devices. Personalization is expected, regardless how > often it ever goes beyond which wallpaper goes on the desktop to knowing > default browser font size can be changed. > > >> for example, setting 100% on the HTML element >> and then sizing elements with relative units will respect the users >> need for a larger readable text size and allow the text to scale up. > > > Not exactly. Zoom will scale it up, or down. The more important issue is the > disregard for optimal, which causes the desire or need for a defensive > reaction to the disregard in order to achieve legible and/or optimal and/or > comfortable state. > > Computers have a natural ability to make tasks easier through automation. > Disregard for defaults defeats an automation step. > > Design off the web generally means total control is given the designer. > Elsewhere he has total control of all sizing. > > One of the virtues of the web is that designer control over absolute size > ranges between difficult and impossible. And it's unnecessary. Even for a > non-web design, apparent size varies with viewing distance. So the important > part of design is how it all fits together, the perspective among design > components. > > Those perspectives, no matter how important or trivial, can be reached in > web design without attempting to impose any arbitrary absolute size to it or > its individual elements. That is done primarily by disposing of use of the > arbitrarily sized px, pt, cm, in and related units in favor of units > configured by the visitor to suit the visitor, keywords, rem, em & %, which > improves automation, and reduces reactive activity required of the visitor. > > The friendly treatment that is respect should translate into a happier and > less irritated viewer, which in turn should translate into a more receptive > frame of mind, one more likely to lead the viewer to purchase whatever the > site is trying to sell, or accept as valid the information provided. > > Exerting less control is usually easier too. :-) >
Well, yeah. That too. ;-) I was close though... right? -- Tom Livingston | Senior Front-End Developer | Media Logic | ph: 518.456.3015x231 | fx: 518.456.4279 | mlinc.com ______________________________________________________________________ css-discuss [css-d@lists.css-discuss.org] http://www.css-discuss.org/mailman/listinfo/css-d List wiki/FAQ -- http://css-discuss.incutio.com/ List policies -- http://css-discuss.org/policies.html Supported by evolt.org -- http://www.evolt.org/help_support_evolt/
